1st Post Election Obama Volunteer Group Meeting a BIG SUCCESS!

Last night at the Pikes Peak Main Library, Penrose in downtown Colorado Springs, Colorado in the Carnegie Reading Room about 76 persons attended what appears to be the first official local post election Obama Organization Meeting in the U.S. I was told this about an hour before its start by Martha Moore, political correspondent for the USA Today Newspaper when she interviewed me on background for an upcoming article. Whether that is so or not we do know that in Colorado El Paso County Obama political activists are the first to organize no different than last year on August 6th precisely the same number of people showed up from a call by Mike Maday to form the orginal local campaign political organization. It was the first organization that Gabe Cohen, the then just appointed Colorado Field Director met with and from there we participated in nominating and now electing Barack Obama to the Presidency.

Here is an accounting of the meeting. First in attendance we had about a dozen of the Staging Location Directors from the GOTV efforts in the Obama Campaign. We also had as many Obama Team Coordinators, seven of the original Caucus/Convention Obama Volunteers leaders, (Mike Maday, Gary Gabrielson, Don Nelson, Jason DeGroot, Andy Nelson, Carol Duster, Renee Hartslief and myself), three former local candidates, (Jay Fawcett, Hal Bidlack and Pete Lee), the publisher of the Colorado Independent, John Weiss, (reporting on the event was Ralph Routon the editor of the Independent), local political consultants, Sally Davis, Jane Ard-Smith and (Renee), El Paso County Democratic Party Vice-Chair, Jay Ferguson, recognized super Obama canvasser Jon Wuerth, two former local Obama staffers, Robert Andrews and Dave Frum just to name a few I recognized. I will also say that I received at least twenty other emails of persons who had personal schedule conflicts and wanted to attend but were unable.

The primary outcome of the meeting was that we voted unanimously to formerly organize a group that would be a separate grass roots organization to be a political resource for the Obama Presidency in El Paso County and seek to partner or link with both the local Democratic Party and other issue groups or constinuencies that align with the Obama Platforms and Movement. The other outcome was that we appointed eight individuals to an Ad hoc Organizational Development Committee to meet and formulate an organizational plan and framework and report back to the group. Those individuals are: Robert Andrews, Pat Hansen, Rick Ketcham, Pete Lee, Katherine Mack, Mike Maday, Don Nelson, Chris Orsborne, and myself.

I opened the meeting and wanted to highlight the political accomplishments the Obama Campaign and its grass roots volunteers to date:

• Record Caucus turnout and Obama vote 69%
• General Election Results: McCain 155,000 <6,000> Obama 104,000 +27,000 over 2004
  
• Voter Registration #'s 16,000 new Democrats, 12,400 Unaffiliated's, 12,000 Republicans
• FiveThirtyEight.com's analysis: 51% CO poll voters contacted by an Obama volunteer while 34% were contacted by a McCain volunteer, 17% gap resulted 3.4-5.1% increase in Obama vote.

Then I introduced Don Nelson who read a passionate speech about the connection between Clinton's failed progressive movement in Health Care Reform and the lack of a grass roots organization to counter the lobbyists in Congress and why a separate grass roots group was essential for the Obama Presidency.

Mike Maday got up and discussed his brief communication with Jon Carson the recent National Field Director of the Obama campaign and the mentioning that a new person would be in contact with him regarding their thoughts. He then introduced Kathy Spicer wh is now with an Ad Hoc Committee investigating polling place and MIB irrregularities in El Paso County. This ilicited many comments from the group about apparent voter problems.

Jay Ferguson then got up and presented the case that moving much of the IObama activism and spirit of change and growth into the El Paso County Democratic Party is critical. He passed out about 25 invitations to next Saturday's Meeting at Hillside Community Center to be led by John Morris, the Party Chair.

I then moved the meeting to an open discussion as to what were their ideas of what to do an what the organization should be, whom or what it serves. We had many ideas expressed, all formitable. There was some concensus that confirmed our theme and objective. That we should form as a separate but aligned group. Our purpose was to serve the President's Platform Agenda of Change and develop or maintain the capability of grass roots communication and organization. That maintaining the team and house district framework was desirable. One extraordinary idea was to make certain whatever local issue we focus on it should be a winner so that we develop credibility and genuine power to change things. Also we agreed to merge the contact networks we have from the HD teams into a large communication network. That we want to spread this grass roots movement to other counties in Colorado and send representatives to them and coordinate efforts.

We then nominated a good sample of leaders who will meet and try to put in order the ideas and spirit for the next meeting. In the meantime everyone at the meeting was to reach out to their network and inform and invite them to the next meeting. If I missed something please write me and I will publish it.

My final take: After the meeting a few of us met at the Phantom Canyon Brewry to discuss some things. Both Jay Ferguson and I have been involved in a spirited and capable grass roots organization that once the contest was over attempted to maintain itself to varying success and degree. In Jay's case it was Mike Miles Senatorial Nomination run where a group in Douglas and Jefferson Counties a strong grass roots group formed outside the local Democratic Party as a 501C educational group. Ultimately they developed such powerful leadership that many found their way into the local county parties, took over and now have been electing local candidates in once Republican only areas.

In my case I was part of coalition of almost 80 groups fighting the building of a coal-fired electric power plant by a private utility in Wisconsin. Our coalition had big corporate players and small environmental and health activists. When the corrupted approval process ended our grass roots effort turned to trying to create a publicly owned utility district in our city, (like Colorado Springs Utilities). Without some early successes the post organization died a slow death.

Organizing something like this is not easy. But the benefits could be enormous. On one hand it offers a vehicle for a voice by those who feel they don't have a voice or their voice will not be heard is important. Many of the Obama network were Independents, either registered or in spirit and not inclined to enbroil themselves in party politics. Others are members of issues or groups outside the party framework but aligned with the Obama Platform. And as Don elequently pointed out that having an outside but affliated group (not unlike the DFA or Move On, offers the ability to communicate to elected officials in mass but outside the party, something both Clinton and Carter presidencies lacked. On the other hand it allows those who become activists the ability to join in the party enmasse with other Obama minded activists to reform and grow our local party. It is a place where party recruitment and development can take place on the outside. This is not a threat to the local party except to say that new blood and knowledge of how to actually organize will cause change to the old guard.

But it will take work and commitment. The other item of most importance is what a wise person brought forward, an early win and credibility. In my opinion the most obvious item to explore is the vote fraud, suppression and manipulation that is apparent in El Paso County. The witness by Jay Ferguson on the local Elections Board illustrates greatly what most of the public does not know, Balink is wholly untrustworthy. That previous to his administration El Paso had the state's lowest amount of election incidents and six years in his administration now the highest amount of incidents. This by itself is an outcome that springs a red flag of suspicion. Is it incompetence, lack of resources or outright corruption?

The thing is that there are 120,000 Independents registered in El Paso County who would be more inclined to align and partner with the Democrats if it is shown and worked that their vote is as much in jeopardy for manipulation as the 86,00o registered Democrats. This makes the inherent numbers of 206,000 to 165,000 (registered Republicans), to provide fair and clean elections. This even could cut into the Republican base as a win-win-win and something of a winning issue that could also bring about a coalition with other issue groups. Ultimately it leads to the 2010 County Clerk's election where Balink is term limited and it being an open seat.

All told the meeting was a great success and I will be announcing both the ad hoc committee meeting and next meeting shortly.